Weaving a tapestry using nothing but voices sounds challenging but a local choir had the vocal threads to do it.
Now the group is off to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
The District 57 Tapestry Singers is an ensemble of youths under the direction of Carolyn Duerksen, based at Quinson Elementary School. There is a junior group (Grades 4 to 7) and a senior group (Grades 7 to 12) made up of kids from all over the area.
The older choir just returned from Seattle where they took a deep breath and plunged into a North American youth choir competition to see how they stacked up against the participants of the Worldstrides Heritage Musical Festival.
After several levels of judging, the Tapestry Singers ended up attaining the gold standard (90 per cent or better).
Many groups opt to stop the evaluations there, but the 18 Tapestry Singers agreed they would face the music in the competitive division, and they came out the winners of their class.
But the biggest accolades were still to come. At the gala closing ceremonies, they were called to centre stage as the top overall choral group in the festival, and even that wasn't the final surprise.
"Just getting the gold standing was all the success we were really looking for," said Duerksen, "but then the master of ceremonies comes out and says 'I have an invitation for a youth choir festival next spring,' and says our name again, and also says the invitation is to perform at Carnegie Hall. This invitation is based on adjudicators' discussion and they do not give out the invitation every year unless it is warranted. That meant the most to me. It meant that in that moment when they were called on to perform for judges in a competition in another country far from home, our singers just shone, and it was noticed. The kids were all very emotional and overwhelmed."
She compared the situation to elite sports tournaments, where the team trains, works out, prepares their psychology, then walks out into the spotlight trying to put it all together at the key moment.
"Some years are building years for your choir, some years you have five sick kids on the risers, or all kinds of variables. All of it worked out for us in Seattle," she said. "They were confident when they left, but the recognition they now have was from well outside P.G. They have moved on to another level of understanding of their abilities."
PGSO conductor Kevin Zakresky workshops with the Tapestry Singers, bringing his skills as director of the Pacifica Singers, a division of the Vancouver Chamber Choir, and his doctorate in choral conducting from Yale University.
"It is the best community children's choir I have ever heard," Zakresky said. "They are amazing, even compared to the choirs I've heard that audition all the members. You have to remember, this group doesn't do that. Carolyn builds this group from kids in the community."
They have enjoyed other successes this year as well. They were featured performers at the BC Scotties women's provincial curling championship, they sang for the opening ceremonies of the revamped Kin Centre rinks, they are preparing for the 2015 Canada Winter Games, and on May 24, for the first time in the seven-year history of the Tapestry Singers, both the junior and senior choirs will gather for a feature length concert of their own. The juniors and seniors will each perform pieces on their own, and also some pieces together as a mass choir.
Joining them at this showcase will be accompanists Maureen Nielsen on piano (the Seattle adjudicators commented that Nielsen had "bionic fingers" to accomplish the challenging music she provided the singers), PGSO concertmaster Jose Delgado-Guevara on violin, Miguel Mori on percussion, Curtis Abriel on bass and guitar, with choreography by Kristen Helfrich.
Entitled "I Will Sing - A Concert Celebrating Joyful Voices", this night of music will be held at St. Michael's Anglican Church at 7:30 p.m. The program will feature many Canadian compositions as well as international pieces. Tickets are $10 available at Studio 2880 for the May 24 show.
A date has yet to be set for the group's appearance at Carnegie Hall, pending fundraising efforts to make the trip.
